Channels of Time
by Bit Star
Summary: The Rescue Rangers get their hands on a remote that can rewind and fast-forward time. Good MiSTing fodder.


CHANNELS OF TIME  
  
  
  
By 8-Bit Star  
  
  
  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
  
Digging though my hard drive, I found this  
piece of Rescue Rangers fanfiction. It's complete,  
utter trash (No surprise considering that it's an  
attempt by someone who's typically a comedy author  
to write a serious story), but I decided that I might  
as well post it on the 'net. You never know, perhaps  
someone will make a decent MiSTing out of this.  
  
  
--------------------------------------  
  
  
  
  
Dale was bored. Nothing was on TV. Nothing  
whatsoever, and at this moment he didn't really feel  
up to the task of finding a comic book to read. Despite  
this, he just kept flipping the channels using a rodent-  
sized remote Gadget had built which, except for all the  
buttons (Including VCR buttons such as fast forward and  
rewind) look more like a sci-fi device out of, well, a  
children's cartoon, really.  
Out of pure desperation, Dale turned to a passing  
Chip, and asked "Hey, do we have a case today?"  
Chip stopped, looked at Dale, and said "Do you  
know what kind of weather it is out there?"  
"No."  
"It's raining cats and dogs! I sure as shooting  
don't want a case today." Chip calmed down, and then  
said "Sorry, I suppose you're growing rather agitated  
at the whole mess, too."  
It had been raining like that all week, and even  
occasionally lightning. Dale had to admit the situation  
was beginning to get to him, he had read all his comic  
books five times and the Television either was playing  
nothing good, or was not getting good reception. Out  
of pure boredom, Dale had even cleaned his room.  
So Dale lifted up the remote to turn off the TV,  
and accidentally hit the Rewind button. He suddenly  
felt a slight but momentary dizzyness., but noticed  
the TV was still on, and realized he had hit the wrong  
button.  
"Guess I'll just turn the show off manually."  
When he got up to do so, he noticed that the movie,  
a monster flick, was showing the last few seconds all  
over again. He then turned, and saw Chip passing by  
again, the same as he had been passing a few seconds  
ago. Dale almost said something before he noticed  
this fact. But instead he sat down, and grabbesd the  
remote, and tested his theory.  
He pressed rewind, and sure enough, Chip walked  
backwards very quickly, as if his actions were being  
quickly reversed. Dale waited a few more seconds, then  
did it again. Then he stared by in awe.  
Chip noticed this, and said "What are you gaping  
at?"  
"This remote can reverse time!" Dale wildly exclaimed.  
Chip laughed out loud. "So you're that bored, huh?"  
"I'm serious!"  
"So am I. I would ask if you want to go on a case  
hunt, but I assume you know the weather conditions..."  
"Chip, listen to me! This remote controls time!  
Here, try it!"  
"Oh, all right..."  
And Chip pressed the fast forward button. He felt  
the dizzyness, then Dale said something to him, and Chip  
saw the words come out, but didn't hear them. Then Dale  
went outside, and immediately came back in followed by  
Gadget who said something to Chip. Again the mouth moved  
but no words came out. Chip stood there and held the  
button. At least hundreds of times had all the Rangers  
passed him, and at one point Gadget seemed to yell at  
him, at which point he put away the remote and said  
"I'm sorry, what Gadget?"  
"I was saying you're being useless! What's wrong  
with you? You haven't even slept! You've just stood  
there for three days!"  
"Three days?!?!" Chip exclaimed. "You must be  
joking! I've only been standing here for ten seconds!"  
"No, It's been three days, Chip. Do you know what  
we've gone through while you were just standing still?"  
Chip, rather than answering, quickly pressed the  
Rewind button, until he finally got back to the point  
where Dale had handed him the remote, looking at the  
monster movie to make sure he had the right place in  
time, then said "Wow, you were right, Dale! Either  
that or I'm going crazy."  
"Uhh... what happened?"  
"Well, I held the fast-forward button for ten  
seconds, and when I let go, it had been three days!"  
"Does that mean you've seen the future?"  
"Well, no, apparently I had just stood there while  
things happened around me. Dale, we have to show this  
to Gadget and Monty."  
"Okay."  
  
In just a few minutes, all the Rangers were gathered  
around a table in the main room, and Chip told them about  
Dale's discovery.  
"Strike me starkas!" Monty exclaimed, "A Time-travellin'  
remote control? This isn't a joke, is it?"  
"I've already set up a way to prove it's not. Dale?"  
Dale got up from the table and was carrying a bowling ball  
made from a hallowed out walnut. He walked a ways from the  
table until he was in front of a makeshift, easily broken  
wood statue Chip had made just for this. "Now, Gadget, I'm  
going to give you the remote. When I say 'Now' press the  
rewind button until the ball is back in Dale's hand."  
Dale watched until Chip gave him a hand signal, then  
he threw the ball at the wood statue, breaking it. The ball  
bounced off the wall, and slowed to a stop.  
"Now!"  
Gadget pressed rewind, and watched the whole scene in  
reverse. When she let up at the appointed time, the ball  
was back in Dale's hand, and the wood statue was back to  
perfection.  
Chip turned, and said "Now it's Monty's turn..."  
"No way mate, I saw it all the first time."  
"And Zipper?"  
"Bzzzz."  
"So we're all agreed, that this remote control has the  
ability to send us all back or forward in time?"  
Nods from all around.  
"Now here's the biggest question: What should we do  
with it?"  
Surprisingly, Dale said "Ditch it! In the movies,  
these kinds of things always cause trouble!"  
"Dale," Gadget said, "Those are only movies. We  
shouldn't let this kind of opportunity just fly by, so  
to speak."  
"She's right, Pally," Monty agreed, "This is probably  
the best thing that could ever happen to us! Our gateway  
into the future!"  
"Right! Prevent crimes before they start!"  
"But I'm tellin' ya," Dale said, "Something always  
goes wrong!"  
"Well, Dale," Chip said, "What usually happens in  
the movies?"  
"Uhh, the badguys find it, and steal it--"  
"This is too small for Nimnul or Fat Cat to use, and  
Rat Capone doesn't know we have it."  
"--Well, I saw this episode of this cartoon once,  
where there was a device like this, except it *made* the  
future happen--"  
"But this has a Reverse option, as well."  
"--One of us could become a bad guy and try to use  
it for our own purposes--"  
"Well, now that we know of *That* danger, we'll just  
have to be smart enough not to let it happen."  
"--Ya know, you're right! I dunno what I could have  
been thinking!"  
"I knew you'd see it my way. So, friends, should we  
use it right now?"  
Everyone gave a unanimous "Yes!"  
  
It had been three seconds by Chip's count, which made  
it sometime the next morning. He let go of the button, and  
said "Right, let's see what's in the news."  
"Right!" and the Rangers scampered over to the sofa,  
flipped on the tube (Manually--you don't use time-travelling  
remotes on TVs) and heard Stan Blather's latest report.  
"Last night the community was shocked by the theft of  
the Pink Girl Painting, a rare and valuable painting by  
Vincent Vad Gag. The only clue was a pawprint, resembling  
a cat's, believed to be a calling card of sorts--"  
But the Rangers didn't bother to listen to the rest  
of the report. They could already guess who the culprit  
was and now simply needed to work out a plan. So Chip  
pressed Rewind and held it for three seconds.  
When he let up, he found himself and the others back  
at the table.  
  
Kirby and Muldoon were standing nearthe park, right  
outside their car, in the middle of a conversation.  
"--Ya man, I've been feeling that Dizzyness too, I  
almost got carsick."  
"And ya know what's wierder?"  
"What?"  
"These, I dunno, memories. I seem to be able to  
remember tomarrow, or something. Like Nimnul's robbery..."  
"And that jewelry store."  
"You remember 'em too?"  
"Yea, it's wierd."  
"Yea, but I'm over it now. We better continue our  
patrol before Spinelli catches us."  
  
The next three days went by quickly and often in  
reverse. It was no mystery that Fat Cat had stolen the  
Pink Girl Painting that night, and the Rangers had set  
up a trap to keep him from reaching his goal. Fat Cat  
was sure surprised when he found out that the one he had  
actually gotten had been replaced with a photocopy which,  
when held to a light, had the hidden message:  
"It's time you learned Crime doesn't pay. Signed,  
The Rescue Rangers. PS, this is a photocopy. The real  
painting is safely back at the museum where it belongs."  
Fat Cat almost tore his fur out, wondering how the  
Rangers found out about his plan.  
  
Nimnul's bank heist and the jewelry store robbery,  
which was done by Rat Capone, were a bit tougher since  
both happened at around the same time, however use of the  
Time Remote (as they had dubbed it) allowed the Rangers  
heavy advantages of watching every move both made, and  
therefore allowed them to perfectly determine the best  
plans. The only thing was that they had needed to split  
up into two groups.  
Chip and Dale had went to the jewelry store with a  
rather basic plan: Set off the alarm ten seconds before  
Rat Capone and his cronies arrive. At the bank, Gadget,  
Monty, and Zipper had used a similar plan, setting off  
the silent alarm right before Nimnul (with a new laser  
ray and a ski mask) entered the door.  
  
Both groups came out alive, having never felt better.  
"You should have heard Rat Capone!" Dale was bragging,  
then imitating Capone, said "'Some dirty rat musta squealed  
on me!'"  
"Well I dunno about you guys, but watching Nimnul flip  
like he did was one of the brightest moments in my life. I  
never laughed so hard!" Monty bragged.  
  
That night, just before Gadget went to bed, she walked  
through the Headquarters one last time that night, and saw  
the Time Remote lying on the table. "It's just like those  
boys to leave it lying around," she thought, and she picked  
it up to put it up in her workshop...  
... then a thought struck her, and she instead took it  
back to her own room. She lied down, wondering, "Should I  
sleep or should I...?" she wasn't actually that tired, so she  
decided to take the plunge, and held down the Fast Forward  
button.  
  
She held the button down for what seemed like a full  
minute, after which Chip came in her room, and in what to  
her was a split second, saw the remote and took it out of  
her hands.  
"Gadget!" Chip said, his voice sounding somewhat  
muffled, "Do you know what you're doing?"  
"No--what the?!" Gadget said as she suddenly found  
that her own voice was muffled, and that it was hard to  
talk. "Oh no, I didn't... I'm not..." Acting on her new  
thought, she felt around her mouth with her tongue, then  
exclaimed "Where are my teeth?! Gimme the remote!"  
She grabbed it, and quickly pressed the Rewind button,  
and watched as Chip's actions all reversed... until she got  
to one point where Chip came into her room wearing formal  
clothing, at which point she stopped, wondering what *this*  
was about. She was relieved to see that neither her nor  
Chip were, well, toothless *somethings* before their time.  
Her and Chip were back to being their normal, young selves.  
"Gadget," Chip asked, "Why did you have to do that?"  
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to know my future. Hey,  
what's with the fancy clothing?"  
"Oh, sorry, slipped my mind," and then Chip did the  
most surprising thing Gadget could remember. He pulled out  
a little black box. Gadget opened it, and found a ring,  
and realised what this was leading to.  
Then Chip popped the question, "Will you...?"  
Almost immediately Gadget wanted to give it back, but  
then she thought about it. She didn't know what this level  
of romance was like, and she could always press Rewind if  
she didn't like it. Again her curiosity got the best of  
her, and she said "When?"  
  
That night, Her and Chip were happily married. Gadget  
looked around, everyone she knew was there. Monty, Zipper,  
Dale... Dale...  
Gadget couldn't help thinking that Dale was taking this  
whole thing hard.  
"Now," the preacher said, "If there is anyone here who  
feels these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold  
your peace."  
Dale almost stood up and objected, but didn't. He couldn't  
keep himself from crying, not for the rest of the night. Gadget  
wondered, just before she herself did, if Dale would ever get  
to sleep, or if he would drown in his own tears first.  
  
The next morning Gadget was awakened by an alarmed Monterey  
Jack, who said simply "Gadget love, you better come quick."  
"What is it, Monty?" she asked, following him out of her  
room, and onto the landing strip.  
"It's not good, love. It's about Chip. You better brace  
yourself."  
They walked past the sofa, where Gadget noticed Dale, still  
crying.  
"Chip? What's wrong with him?"  
Then they walked out on the landing pad, and Gadget saw  
for herself. Unable to bear the sight, she turned away, and  
began crying herself.  
"Gadget love, I'm sorry..."  
Then suddenly, a thought clicked in Gadget's mind, and  
she ran to her room, and grabbed the remote which she had put  
on her dresser the day of their marriage, and quickly pressed  
Rewind.  
  
It was back to that moment, the moment it all began,  
with Dale watching that monster movie. He turned to see Chip  
walking by.  
In a choking voice, Dale said "Chip, I..."  
But Chip passed him by without looking at him. Dale  
looked at his eyes. They looked like the eyes of a vengeful  
person. Worse, they were the eyes of a dead 'munk.  
  
Gadget kept the remote with her when she went to dinner.  
The whole headquarters had an air of death and vengeance about  
it, and it was amplified at the dinner table.  
Monterey Jack had, as usual, done the cooking, as usual  
putting lots of cheese in everything. Chip and Dale were sitting  
right across from each other, Chip still having that vengeful  
look on his face, which Dale seemed to be afraid to look at.  
And then Gadget saw Chip do the other most surprising  
thing she'd ever see him do. When Dale wasn't looking, he  
attempted to dump poison into his food!  
"Chip, what are you *doing*?!" Gadget cried out as  
she grabbed Chip's hand and yanked it away.  
"Gadget," Dale said in a low tone of voice, "I deserve  
it."  
"What--" Then realization struck, and she, surprised,  
said "You mean you...?!"  
"Who else?" Chip affirmed.  
Then Gadget got over her shock, and said "But that doesn't  
change anything. He was wrong--or rather, will be wrong--but  
he admits to that, and you can't blame someone for something  
that hasn't happened yet."  
"If it hasn't happened yet then why do I remember it?"  
Gadget took a bite of her food, and said "I don't know."  
No one said anything for the rest of dinner.  
  
That night, Dale was walking to his bedroom, having  
stayed up late for another movie, when he was confronted by  
Chip, who had a harpoon, and *not* the plunger-loaded kind,  
either.  
"I oughtta just kill you where you stand!" Chip stated.  
"I guess so," Dale said, still feeling guilt. "All right,  
do it. Then we'll be even."  
"You mean it? You won't resist?"  
"Not a bit."  
"Then..."  
  
Gadget was awakened by Dale's cry of agony, and, figuring  
what had happened, immediately pressed Rewind on the remote, then  
she got up and ran to the Main Room.  
  
"So, we're even now," a now-alive-again Dale said.  
"Yes, you certainly are." Chip said, chunking the harpoon  
away. He sighed, not noticing Gadget had just entered the room,  
and said "And, actually, that didn't at all feel satisfying.  
Dale, I feel like such a fool... I'm..."  
"Don't say it, Chip. I know. I feel the same way."  
Gadget watched as the two friends-turned-enemies hesitated,  
then Chip extended a hand and said "Friends again?"  
Dale took the hand and said "You betcha!"  
Gadget smiled, and quietly slipped back to her room, and  
caught snippets of a conversation.  
"So, Chip, what was it like being dead, anyway?"  
"Weren't you dead too?"  
"Yea, but not for as long as you."  
"Well, it's kinda like..."  
Gadget didn't hear it. She shut the door and went back to  
sleep.  
  
The next day, the Rangers had another meeting.  
"All right," Chip said, "I know we've already had this  
discussion, but I have reason to believe many of us will have  
a different perspective now. So, I ask again, what should we  
do with the Time Remote?"  
Despite the bad things that had come out of it's use,  
the Rangers had to agree that those were *their* fault, not  
the fault of any inanimate object, and that many good things  
had come out of it, as well. Gadget had to admit that it was  
ignorance on her part that had caused the whole mess between  
Chip and Dale.  
So Monty said "Well, While I still think that thing is  
the best thing we've ever had, I *don't* think we're ready  
for that kind of power, so I suggest..."  
  
Now the remote sits in a triple-locked box in Gadget's  
workshop, which has a label reading "For extreme emergencies  
only."  
  
  
------Afterword------  
  
  
This story, as I previously stated, was my first go at  
totally serious story. I admit, sometimes I stopped and  
asked myself "What *am* I writing?" (Well, except for once,  
when I wondered exactly when I switched mindsets with John  
Nowak) but obviously that kind of thing never stops me, but  
I hope you liked it anyway.  
  
(*PLEASE* someone! Do a MiSTing!) 


End file.
